Modern Family Recap: Disneyland Adventures

The trip to Disneyland. It’s an enduring American tradition, all wholesome family fun and conspicuous consumption. It’s also a distinct television trope, nearly as prevalent as egg-sitting or having a character throw his back out. The Golden Girls did it, Roseanne did it, the majority of ABC’s TGIF lineup did it, and last night Modern Family got its turn to embrace corporate synergy and don its own pair of mouse ears.

And as with so many other sitcom clichés, it was up to Modern Family to, if not subvert it, then to improve upon it or in some way freshen it up. Though last night’s episode was not groundbreaking nor was it anywhere near the best the show has ever offered (when an amusement park is the special guest star, narrative takes second place to scenery), it was still diverting entertainment loaded with great one-liners and even a few tender moments. That’s Modern Family’s bread and butter, or, in this case, its enormous turkey leg and churro. Read More...